Debut podium was frustrating in hindsight - Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen says it took a two races to get over the frustration of seeing McLaren's pace drop off so severely after securing a podium on his debut in Australia.

In Melbourne Magnussen became the first rookie to finish second on his debut since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 but the highest he has managed to finish since has been ninth. McLaren's downturn in fortunes was so extreme that Magnussen admits he found it difficult to adjust his expectations for the season, especially in the subsequent flyaway races.

"I said at the time, it was a great result and something I'm really proud of," Magnussen said. "I'll always have that, getting on the podium in my first race. But I think the first few races after that were more frustrating because I came off the podium and into races where I was struggling to even get points.

"That makes it more frustrating because you're thinking back to Australia, 'I got on the podium there and it was easy', then you go to Malaysia and Bahrain and it's hard to even get points. It took two races [to get over]. Those two races in Malaysia and Bahrain, they were really frustrating. I was frustrated we weren't able to extract the pace we had in Australia.

"But that's Formula One and you have to make sure that you get the best out of what you have every time. You can't expect too much, you just have to make sure you do your job to the maximum you are capable of."

Magnussen, who won Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013, says he has now got his head around the issues but admits it took him longer than he would have liked.

"I think it's more to do with the fact that we had such a good race at the beginning. I'm over that now, I don't even think about Australia. Now I understand where we are and I understand why we are here and I understand what it will take to get back to where we need to be. It's more clear now.

"After Australia it was just frustration and confusion as to why suddenly we weren't quick enough. We understand it now and that's the most important thing. It's not to do with the fact I've won things and always been at the top in my junior career, I didn't expect to jump into Formula One and nail it like I've always done, I knew it would be a different and much bigger result."